Andersen Hull

Oe761- Chloe Andersen, an engineer for the government of Groftbay, developed the Andersen Hull system, which allowed for ships to travel at sustained fast speeds across the Blue Sea.

"A Steelwater Ketch sailing under the power of its Andersen Hull.- Cloud Maker by Georgia Helmsley"

Development-
Chloe Andersen was walking along the coast of the Blue Sea near the outskirts of Groftbay when she saw a group of children playing with a piece of scrap metal which was very roughly shaped into a boat. The children had discovered that if they heated the metal and pushed it forward in a tide pool containing godswater, it would self propel as long as it remained hot. Andersen immediately traded the children nearly a month's worth of food for the toy, as she immediately saw the benefits applicable to the real world.

She garnered support among Groftbay shipbuilding elites as well as the Groftbay leadership at the time and immediately began to plan. She figured out the propulsion design fairly easily, but when a ship accelerated to full speed, it would be too much for the hull design and the drag on the sea and the boat would sink. An altered hull design and exaggerated keel helped with the issue, but limited speeds to roughly 1.3 windspeed. The design was primitive and with many limitations, but it allowed for top speed travel across the Blue Sea dependent on only initial wind conditions, not sustained high winds. The innovation revolutionized Blue Sea travel and would eventually make it possible to travel from Groftbay to Steelwater or New Vallos in a matter of days instead of weeks (under the right conditions).

Function
Andersen hull design differs from nation to nation, but there are a few universal guiding principles.
 * Ships must reach a certain speed on wind-power alone before the conditions are right to "activate" Andersen sytems
 * The base of the ship hull is made of a high-tech alloy
 * The alloy is lined with corrugated grooves, which channel heated godswater through them to generate propulsion
 * A boiler lines the alloyed hull, being heated by either burning wood or oil
 * The heat separates the brume from the godswater, producing a byproduct of freshwater.
 * The hydrofoil design lifts the ship out of the water slightly, but the lift is limited due to the lack of water density in godswater. This is essential to large ships being solely propelled by the Andersen System. Without this design, the ship never "takes off" at it's max speed.
 * The heat around the ship's hull dissapates water tension allowing for quick transport.
 * The byproducts of the process are freshwater and brume, both of which are expelled out the back of the ship for propulsion.
 * The Brume will hover over the ship's wake for roughly an hour, combining with moisture of the sea air before condensing back into liquid form
 * Freshwater can be harvested for drinking or selling, but this limits propulsion and adds weight to the ship

Improvements
Various improvements have been made in the thousand year history of the

Braking
If the system is disengaged improperly, the ship will dip down into the godswater and the water tension will overwhelm the ship, causing the hull to splinter or simply sink. Stoppage time due to heat retention of specialized hull alloys can be upwards of 30 minutes.

Wake
The wake of a ship engaged in their Andersen System leaves behind a visible wake of fog (which in reality is Brume). It makes ships more traceable, and limits where travel can be done, because if The Brume is blown over to an island settlement it would mean doom for the inhabitants.

Steering
Ships using the Andersen System cannot steer reactively. Detailed charts and calculations are poured over in preparation for engaging the sytem, making the ship navigator or ASM (Andersen System Machine) the most valuable item/sailor on a ship. If the rudder is engaged, the ship will most likely wreck, facing similar problems to when the system improperly brakes.

Vulnerability
Travel- The Andersen System i.e.-For’Nae: a sailing term on the blue sea for fast, straight lines of travel, also called “Andersen Speed” and “For’Nae”, the braesi word for ‘faster’. Sailors utilize godspower of fire to heat the hulls of their ships, causing the Blue Sea water in contact with the hull to temporarily change composition, resisting contact with the heat. This causes planing, lifting the ship slightly out of the water (depending on the ship, but typically needs 11 knots to engage) and allows for speeds upwards of 40 knots. This method of travel cuts through mildly choppy seas quite effortlessly and is fast, though it drains the sailors on board of energy and steering is impossible during this form of travel, as the keel and rudder must be out of the water for the effect to take place. The type of rigging is vital, as a smaller ship is most efficient travelling at 90° of the wind, while a square rigged ship is fastest at roughly 135°, (not 180° or ‘running’ because the wind must be against the hull for the Andersen System to lift the hull and fully engage). Fore and aft sails have a larger range of possibilities to get to the Endurance point (roughly 11 knots) to engage the system. Once this is achieved, near top speeds can be reached.

For’Nae on the blue sea results in a wake of dense white fog, which lingers for some 2o minutes before dissipating into the sea again. Hulls are officially classified by a system named after the Groftbay engineer who first developed the hull alloy (Andersen Alloy) and implemented the system, Chloe Andersen:

Freshwater/saltwater hulls are known as Vallosi Hulls 1.2x windspeed Godswater hulls are known as Groftbay Hulls 1x wind speed 1st generation Andersen Hulls: Andersen 1st Class 1.6x wind speed Development of the 2nd Andersen Keel 2nd Generation: Andersen 2nd Class 2.0x wind speed Development of 2nd generation Andersen Alloy Current Generation: Andersen Modern Class 2.4x wind speed

Andersen Hulls are extremely expensive and require a lot of maintenance. They are also repurposed and salvaged due to their costs. Even wealthy nations only have a few Modern Class hulls. Many have altered and upgraded their hulls to generate more speed, but the base speed increase is limited. A modified hull (and typically all hulls) are referenced informally for their multiplication of top wind speed. (Andersen 24 would reference a “modern class”, Andersen 18 would reference a modified 1st class, capable of 1.8x wind speeds) Endurance (For’nae) is limited by the top speed of the wind, and is unsafe to engage (because of the raised rudder) at wind speeds of higher than 18 knots. Engaging in storm waters very often results in capsizing. Starting: Extremely accurate sea charts are required for safe engagement of the Andersen system. The process requires roughly 15 minutes of prep time, though experienced crews can sail off in under 10. Engagement: Steering is impossible during engagement, as the Andersen System depends almost entirely on balance (which is why the system cannot be engaged in rough seas). Turning from center will interrupt the godswater effect, either tipping the boat to the port or starboard side, or engaging the entirety of the hull and bringing down the stern of the ship under the water line. Stopping: the hull must cool down, and if true top speeds are reached, this can take roughly 30 minutes, so the process must begin very early. If the rudder is engaged during wind speeds, the altered godswater will damage it quickly. The system must come to a stop gradually (or else the hull will fully engage, sinking the ship), though braking processes have been proven to bring the time for stopping down by roughly 10%.